Rack & Pinion Question

I'm changing the steering system on my 1948 Desoto Suburban (9 passenger, 4800 pound vehicle) from the original pitman arm steering to rack and pinion steering.

I purchased a rebuilt back-steer rack and pinion (45" long) that was for a

1995-2005 Chevy Cavalier or Pontiac Sunfire. I built the mounting housing, new steering shaft, new power hoses from the pump, and new tie rod ends. I still have to cut one side of the motor mount (1" x 2") off to make room for the double D U-joint coupler so the rack can turn (not done yet).

I found the travel on the rack is only 2.5" on each side. This does not give me enough turning angles on the wheels (I need at least 4").

A couple of solutions I thought of are:

  • To get a rack from some other vehicle (maybe a truck) that would have more then 4" travel on each side. Trouble is - I don't know which trucks would have this type of rack.

or

  • To make a shorter steering arm for the existing Desoto but I would have to find a shop that could do this and I don't know if this would compromise safety as the tie rod ends and the rack will carry more stress when turning.

Would anyone have suggestions on other ways to (safely) resolve this? I can email pictures of the steering configuration.

Reply to
Cindy
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rec.autos.tech may work better, Desotos are even rarer in the UK than with you.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Ok Thanks I will try over there.

Reply to
Cindy

I'd say you've already compromised safety. The entire steering mechanism is engineered to give the correct angles as the wheels turn - simply bodging in a rack is bound to upset this, unless correctly engineered.

If all you wanted was power assistance why not fit one of the many power assisted steering boxes?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Errr it's a Desoto....

Reply to
Duncan Wood

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